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the shaping of the Earth’s surface. One of it has been already mentioned and it is volcanic activity which results in volcanic eruptions on the surface of the planet that changes it dramatically. At the same time volcanic eruptions are to a significant extent the effect of the seismic activity of the Earth’s crust which leads to cracking of the crust in some places. Another consequences of seismic activity of the crust are earthquakes which also change the surface. Also there are natural processes which impact independently from inner-Earth processes, erosion may be named among them. Erosion leads to the gradual destruction of the surface of crust, including mountains and rocks and naturally other parts of the Earth’s surface.
All these factors create a uniqueness of the planet making it different from others.
Other planets of the Solar system
Obviously it would be logical to compare the Earth to other planets of the Solar system in order to fully realize its uniqueness.
First of all, Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun at the same time it is the second-smallest planet in the Solar system. Physically, Mercury is similar in appearance to the Moon as it is heavily cratered. It has no atmosphere and no natural satellites. The planet has a large iron core which generates a magnetic field about 1% as strong as that of the Earth. Surface temperature on Mercury range from about 90 to 700 K, with the sub solar point being the hottest and the bottoms of the craters near the poles the coldest.
The second planet from the Sun is Venus. It is sometimes referred to as the Earth’s ‘sister planet’, as the two are very similar in size and bulk composition. A remarkable feature of the planet is its atmosphere which basically consists of carbon dioxide and a small amount of nitrogen, with the pressure at the surface about 90 times that of Earth. The solar radiance is much lower than on the Earth because the planet thick cloud cover reflects the sunlight back into space. Another remarkable feature of the planet is the fact that it has slow retrograde rotation, i.e. it rotates from east to west and not vice versa as other major planets do. Its magnetic field is very weak compared to other planets.
Probably the most mysterious planet is Mars. Its particular feature is its red color. The red, fiery appearance of the planet is caused by iron oxide on its surface. Mars has only a quarter of the surface area of the Earth and only one-tenth the mass, though its surface area is practically equal to that of the Earth’s dry land because Mars lacks oceans.
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and by far the largest in the Solar system. This planet is characterised by a particularly great mass which is 2.5 times more than all the other planets combined. It also has the fastest rotation range. But it’s best known feature is probably the Great Red Spot, a storm larger than Earth that is a permanent feature of the planet which is perpetually covered with clouds and may not have any solid surface.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. It is a gas giant, the second-largest planet in the Solar system. Its particular feature is the system of rings, consisting of mostly ice particles and rocky debris.
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and it is a gas giant as Saturn. The planet is the third largest by diameter and fourth largest by mass. It is primarily composed of rocks and various ices.
Neptune is the eights or occasionally